We’ve seen hundreds of great pubs and bars around the world, but for our money, you just can’t beat the traditional times of an Irish pub. The country as a whole is pretty famous for its drinks, with Guinness, Baileys and a whole lot more tracing their routes right back to the Emerald Isle. In fact, most of Ireland’s best known drinks have come straight from Dublin, the country’s capital city.
Dublin’s great to visit, but there’s just a couple of problems – the city’s huge, and it gets pretty expensive. We took a trip round a couple of Dublin’s best bar and attractions and managed to do it all on a relatively low cost, so we’ve put together this guide to saving money while having a truly unforgettable time.
First and foremost, don’t stay in the city centre. If you’ve ever been to a capital you’ll know how noisy and expensive they can get. It’s really, really easy to get around Dublin with buses, trams and such so you really shouldn’t worry about convenience. You can save a bit of cash by crashing in a hostel, but the privacy of a hotel’s always been our preferred choice (mainly to avoid snorers to be honest). We booked in at the Rathmines Travelodge Dublin Hotel just about a mile from the actual city centre, with a couple of buses running regularly through the city’s best sights.
Starting off, we decided it was best to warm up for the evening with a day heading around some of Dublin’s more sober attractions. We checked out a few museums and galleries (Ireland’s art scene is best known for its writers but there’s plenty of painters around) before heating it up a bit with a trip to the Guinness Storehouse.
One of the most iconic things to come out of Ireland, Guinness is probably the most famous beer outside of America. For a few decades, the black gold was made right near the heart of Dublin, but international expansion pushed it all over to a different site. Back around 2000, the old storehouse got transformed into a huge attraction, with a fair bit of history about the story of Guinness. Pretty expensive, but worth a visit if you’re interested, particularly with a free pint served right at the top of the storehouse.
After that and a meal, we were just about ready to kick off a proper night out. By far the most famous destination for people planning a night in Dublin is the famous Temple Bar area, so we decided to head on down. Word of warning – even if you find the cheaper places, the whole area gets packed, especially on a weekend.
By far and away the best place we saw in Temple Bar was the Old Storehouse. Recommended by pretty much every visitor, the Old Storehouse is found towards the north of Temple Bar and has a real charming aesthetic. Some great priced drinks and live music really got us into the swing of traditional Irish times. Definitely a perfect way to start off.
A bit less on the traditional side of things, the Porterhouse is also a pretty decent choice. Opened as Dublin’s first pub brewery, the Porterhouse comes with a whole lot of different choices for drinks. From a few homemade tastes to a wide stock of tastes from others, there’s plenty of different tastes on offer.
We visited a couple of other places before heading back to our Travelodge Dublin budget hotel, but like we said, the Bar gets pretty expensive, so we’d really recommend sticking to our two recommendations if you’re looking to save some cash on your stay.
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